India to announce Test squad for South Africa series today - Should KL Rahul really be dropped?

With the BCCI selection committee set to announce India's squad for the Test series against South Africa, KL Rahul could be seen making way for Rohit Sharma as an opener.

Should KL Rahul be dropped from India's Test squad?&nbsp

Key Highlights

The BCCI is expected to announce Indian squad for three-match Test series against South Africa today

Rohit Sharma could be promoted as opener in place of KL Rahul, who has been out of form of late

Youngsters like Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran could also be given a chance in the team

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to select a 15-member Indian team for the forthcoming Test series against South Africa. An error-free 2-0 sweep over West Indies couldn't hide certain flaws that exist in the Indian team, with one of them being the opening spot. KL Rahul hasn't looked at his best in the whites of late and chief selector MSK Prasad also admitted being concerned about the Karnataka lad's performance. Whether or not Rohit Sharma should be given a chance to shine at the top at the expense of Rahul remains to be seen.

Another 'Virender Sehwag model' is being discussed in the Indian cricket with many former cricketers, including Sourav Ganguly, wanting to see Hitman Rohit open the innings in Test cricket too, having established a reputation as one of the most consistent hitters of the ball in the limited-overs formats.

It is to be noted that Rahul already doesn't seem to be first-choice in white-ball cricket either, with the pairing of Shikhar Dhawan-Rohit Sharma keeping hold of the opening spots while Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer seem to be the top candidates for the No. 4 position. In such a scenario, if Rahul faces the axe in Test cricket too, Team India might not go on to see him fulfilling his 'immense' potential anytime soon.

It isn't just Rohit who is seen as an alternative to Rahul as Mayank Agarwal's opening partner. The names of Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran have also been highlighted and the possibility of including at least one of these youngsters is expected to be discussed when the selection committee sits down to finalise the Test squad on Thursday.

Verdict:

Although he has had his ups and downs, it isn't Rahul who should take the entire blame. After a rather successful 2019 ICC World Cup with the bat, the 26-year-old barely featured for India in the limited-overs formats for India against West Indies. Rahul was given just one match in the final T20I where he scored 20 runs before being shunned in the entire ODI series.

Given the history, it's fair to say that even the most talented batsmen struggle when they fail to get a consistent run in the team. If only Rishabh Pant's example is to be taken, the young wicket-keeper batsman has complete backing by the skipper Virat Kohli and the team management across formats after the underwhelming performances that he produced in West Indies. Shouldn't the same be done with KL Rahul?

Although there's no doubting that the level of competition within the Indian team is immense, one may wonder if there's more that Kohli and the team management could do in order to help an extremely talented batsman perform his best.

India to announce Test squad for South Africa series today - Should KL Rahul really be dropped?Description:With the BCCI selection committee set to announce India's squad for the Test series against South Africa, KL Rahul could be seen making way for Rohit Sharma as an opener.Sahil Bakshi